Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and ten have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $179.9474.

A number of brokerages have weighed in on BX. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 price target on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday, October 24th. HSBC reduced their target price on shares of Blackstone from $179.00 to $178.00 in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Blackstone from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Blackstone from $173.00 to $168.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Blackstone from $177.00 to $176.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 24th.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Shares of Blackstone stock opened at $154.72 on Wednesday. Blackstone has a 12 month low of $115.66 and a 12 month high of $190.09. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The company has a market capitalization of $114.25 billion, a PE ratio of 44.21, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.76. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $148.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $160.06.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 22nd. The asset manager reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter. Blackstone had a return on equity of 22.30% and a net margin of 20.56%.The company had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter. On average, research analysts predict that Blackstone will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 3rd were paid a $1.29 dividend. This represents a $5.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 3rd. This is an increase from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 147.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director James Breyer acquired 13,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $143.86 per share, for a total transaction of $1,999,654.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 68,906 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,912,817.16. The trade was a 25.27% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Holdings Iv Gp Mana Blackstone purchased 385,208 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $25.96 per share, with a total value of $9,999,999.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 16,332,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $424,001,642.68. The trade was a 2.42% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have purchased 797,148 shares of company stock worth $24,050,153 over the last 90 days. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blackstone

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. REAP Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Strive Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Traub Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, 1248 Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Blackstone during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

About Blackstone

Blackstone Inc (NYSE: BX) is a global investment firm focused on alternative asset management. Founded in 1985 by Stephen A. Schwarzman and Peter G. Peterson and headquartered in New York City, the firm organizes and manages investment vehicles that acquire and operate businesses, real estate and credit investments, as well as provide hedge fund solutions and other alternative strategies for institutional and individual investors.

Blackstone’s business is organized around several principal investment platforms.